Improvement in machines for harvesting standing corn



1. FRAMPTON.

y Corn Harvester Patented March 3, 1857.

N Pneu. MWh-Wm D' t" UNrTnD STATES JAMES H. FRAMPTON,

PATENT FFICF@ OF HOPEWELL, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR HARVESTING STANDING CORN.

To all whom it may concer/n: v

Be it known that I, JAMES H. FaAMP'roN of Hopewell, in the county of Muskingum and State of Ohio, have invented a new and improved machine for cutting standing cornstalks and placing them in upright sheaves upon the ground; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Flgure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of my improvement, the plane of section passing through the center. Fig. 2 is a front view of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan or top view of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

My invention consists in so constructing and arranging the body of the machine which receives the cut stalks that said body may, when filled, be drawn back, turned horizontally on a center, and then tilted in a vertical position, so as to place the cut stalks uprightly upon the ground; and also having attached to the body gripping-arms, arranged as will be hereinafter shown, for the purpose of compressing the tops of the sheaves when placed on the ground and causing their lower ends to spread in order to form a proper base to retain them in a vertical or upright position.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A represen ts a horizontal rectangular frame, which may be constructed of wood in any proper manner; and B is an axle, having a wheel, U, at each end, the wheels being attached permanently to the axle, which is itted in suitable bearings, c a, attached to the under side of' the frame A near its front end.

rIhe inner side of each front wheel, C, has a beveled-toothed rim, b upon it, and into the rims b beveled pinions c gear-one into each rim. The pinions e c are placed on shafts D D, which have their hearings in horizontal plates d, attached to the strips or blocks ff at the sides of the frame A. The shafts D D are inclined, their upper ends being nearer the front end of the frame A than their lower ends. 0n each of the shafts D a circular knife, E, is placed, and also arms e, which are formed of two curved bars crossing each other at right angles, the shafts D passing through the centers of the bars at their point of contact, as shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 3.

To the upper end of each block or stripfa knife, E', is attached. The cutting-edges of these knives are not parallel with the upper edges of the strips or blocksf, the outer ends of the cutting-edges being nearer to the sides of the strips or blocksfthan the inner ends, as shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 3, and the elutting-edges of the knives E are inclined correspondingly to the inclination ofthe knives E. The circular knives E are so placed upon the shafts D D that their edges will slightly overlap or work over the back parts of the cutting-edges of' the knives E.

To the front end of the frame A shafts G are attached.

H represents the body of the machine, which is formed merely of a bottom, (1, and two par allel sides, h h. The front end of this body is allowed to slide between the two strips or blocksfj'. The front end ot' the bottom g ot' the body is hinged to a plate, i, the length and breadth of which is equal to the bottom g. The plate t is also provided with a joint, j, some distance back of its front end, as shown in Fig. 1 in black and in Fig. 2 in red.

On the frame A, near its back end, an upright pin, k, is placed, said pin passing through a slot, l, madelongitudinally through the plate t'. The back end of the platei is secured to two curved bars, m m., the lower ends of which are attached to an axle, I, having a wheel, n, at each end. These wheels support the back part ot' the frame A and body H.

In the back part of the bodyr H there are placed two shafts or rods, 0 o, the inner ends, p, of which are bent outward at right angles to the other parts, 0 o, the parts p fitting in vertical slots in the sides lL h of the body H, and having weights q at their outer ends to keep them in ahorizontal position. The outer ends, r fr, of the shafts or rods o o are bent inward or toward each other, and have chains or cords s s attached to them, said chains or cords being also attached tothe upper ends ot' the bars m m. The rods o 0 are fitted in bearings a on the bottom ofthe body H.

The operation is as follows: As the machine is drawn along the shafts D D are made to rotate in consequence of the pinions c o gearing into the toothed rims b on the wheels C C, and

the arms e, as they rotate, gather or force the standing stalks into the angle formed by the rotating knives E and the stationary knives E', by which the stalks are cut, the cut stalks being thrown into the body H by the arms e, the butts of the stalks being at the front end of the body. The knives, it will be understood, cut two rows of stalks at the same time, the space between each pair being equal to the space between the rows. The driver is placed or walks behind the bars m m, and when the body H is filled with cut stalks the driver draws back the bodyH by grasping the crosspiece at the upper ends of the bars m m, the pin 7c, which is tted in the slot l in the plate i, serving as a guide to the body. When the body is drawn fully backthat is, when the front end of the slot l strikes against the pin c-the machine is stopped, and the driver turns the body in either direction at right angles to its former position, as shown in red in Fig. 3,

the Wheels n u of course turning the body.

Thebody is'then shoved toward one side of the machine until the joint j in the plate 'i is at the edge of the frame A, and the body H is then tilted until it reaches a vertical position, and when it arrives in that position the stalks will fall from the body by their own gravity, andthe chains or cords s s will actuate the rods o o, causing the arms p p to approach each other and grip the upper ends ot the stalks, and thereby cause their lower ends to expand or spread out, so as to form a proper base to keep them in a vertical position. The driver then replaces the body or moves it to its original position, and the machine is again drawn along and the operation repeated.`

I will remark that knives A may, if desired, be attached to the under side of the frame A, in order to cut the stalks quite close to the ground and leave a short stubble. These knives, however,may be dispensed with,if desired.

I claim- The body H, so arranged that it may be operated to discharge the stalks, as described, in combination with the rods 0 o, placed in said body and provided with curved ends or gripping-armspp, as shown, for the purpose specied. y

JAMES H. FRAMPTON.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL B. GRIFFITH, DAVID SHER'RARD, Jr. 

